European Parliament hit by Legionella

It is ironic that following the finalisation of European guidelines for the control or prevention of travel associated Legionnaires' disease at the 17th annual meeting of the European Working Group for Legionella infections held in Malta recently, the European Parliament's one billion euro headquarters in Strasbourg has been hit by the serious bug. Legionella, which can cause pneumonia and in rare cases death, was found in hot water pipes after the May monthly session.

Officials reported that several people returning from the meeting in the eastern French city had been taken ill, causing anxiety among the members and staff on Friday after the discovery of the bacteria that causes Legionnaire's disease.

Although parliamentary leaders decided, by a narrow majority on Thursday, to go ahead with the June plenary session in Strasbourg despite the problem, members and staff have petitioned Parliament President Pat Cox.

"We believe that in these conditions, it would be highly irresponsible to go ahead as planned with next week's session in Strasbourg, as the possible presence of Legionella bacteria could put the health of MEPs, assistants, parliament staff, visitors and others at serious risk," the petition said.

Tests carried out by Strasbourg public health authorities confirmed the presence of the bug in the futuristic steel-and-glass building inaugurated in 1999, blaming it on the fact that the hot water system is only used four days a month and water stagnates the rest of the time, said Yves Clarisse reporting from Brussels for Reuters on Friday.

An advisory notice to staff said the administration had "immediately taken the necessary measures to ensure that the water quality will return to normal by the evening of June 8", two days before the start of the session.

But the results of further tests conducted yesterday would not be known until June 17 and 21. The petitioners proposed switching the session to Brussels and hit a raw French nerve by adding that the incident "once again illustrates the serious difficulties caused by parliament's two-seat arrangement".

Under a 1992 EU compromise, parliament holds 12 four-day sessions a year in Strasbourg, its historic seat. The rest of the time, members and their staff work in Brussels.

The travelling arrangement costs European taxpayers millions of euros a year and some political analysts see it as one reason why parliament has not acquired greater power in EU affairs.

However, France has resisted repeated efforts to move the legislature permanently to Brussels, arguing the Strasbourg seat was part of a historic share-out of European institutions in which Luxembourg got the European Court of Justice and several other EU agencies, and others have been scattered across the 15-nation bloc.